Harpers Ferry
Civil War West Virginia

American Civil War
September 12-15 1862

Clash of Loyalties: A Border County in the Civil War West Virginia and Appalachia
The story of one county in the mountainous Northwest of Virginia, is a telling microcosm of the deep divisions which both caused the war and were caused by it. With a meticulous examination of census and military records this is a compelling account of the passion and violence which tore apart Barbour County and the Nation

Learning that the garrison at Harpers Ferry had not retreated after his incursion into Maryland, General Robert E. Lee decided to surround the force and capture it.

He divided his army into four columns, three of which converged upon and invested Harpers Ferry. On September 15,
after Confederate artillery was placed on the heights overlooking the town, Union commander Col. Miles surrendered the garrison of more than 12,000.

Miles was mortally wounded by a last salvo fired from a battery on Loudoun Heights. Jackson took possession of Harpers Ferry, then led most of his soldiers to join with Lee at Sharpsburg.

After paroling the prisoners at Harpers Ferry, A.P. Hill's division arrived in time to save Lee's army from near-defeat at Sharpsburg.

Kindle AvailablePatriotic Treason
John Brown and the Soul of America
The life of the first citizen committed to absolute racial equality. His friendships in defiance of the culture around him, He turned his twenty children into a dedicated militia. He collaborated with black leaders such as Frederick Douglass, Martin Delany, and Harriet Tubman to overthrow slavery.

Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, before the battle.

Meteor of War: The John Brown Story
Students have already been taught that John Brown was at best a well-meaning madman. This book shows the various John Browns of history and myth, so that, whether you agree with the actions of Brown, you will at least understand them better and see him as a complex and human individual

Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, after the battle.

View of Harpers Ferry from Maryland Heights

Kindle AvailableThe Civil War
Introduces young readers to the harrowing true story of the American Civil War and its immediate aftermath. A surprisingly detailed battle-by-battle account of America's deadliest conflict ensues, culminating in the restoration of the Union followed by the tragic assassination of President Lincoln

Clash of Loyalties: A Border County in the Civil War West Virginia and Appalachia
The story of one county in the mountainous Northwest of Virginia, is a telling microcosm of the deep divisions which both caused the war and were caused by it. With a meticulous examination of census and military records this is a compelling account of the passion and violence which tore apart Barbour County and the Nation

Kindle AvailableRebels At The Gate
The dramatic story of the first Union victories of the Civil War and the events that caused Virginians to divide their state. In a defiant act to sustain President Lincoln's war effort, Virginia Unionists created their own state government in 1861-destined to become the new state of West Virginia. Their actions blocked what should have been Confederate control of the territory and closed one of their key gateways to the Union states

Kindle AvailableThe Perfect Steel Trap: Harpers Ferry 1859
Eye-witness accounts of the John Brown insurrection from people like Lee, Brown's family, and ordinary citizens. The information has been gathered by two of the raiders who escaped and live to tell about it Owen Brown and Osborne Anderson. The preparations, the raid, the trials, the executions and the aftermath of the event

Images of the Civil War in West Virginia
This amazing book has over 475 photographs, images, and drawings – all made during the Civil War or very soon thereafter, and all related to West Virginia. This is the largest collection of images ever put together on West Virginia during the war. In addition to photos, it includes broadsides, veteran reunions, and miscellaneous paper items. Many of these pictures are from private collections and have never before been published. Also includes a short chronology of battles and events, giving a reference for the images. The book is printed on high quality glossy paper. A must for all Civil War buffs

Kindle AvailableThe Divided Family in Civil War America
In hundreds of border state households, brothers--and sisters--really did fight one another, while fathers and sons argued over secession and husbands and wives struggled with opposing national loyalties. Even enslaved men and women found themselves divided over how to respond to the war

Kindle AvailableA. P. Hill:
Lee's Forgotten General
Biography of the Confederacy's long-neglected hero whom Lee ranked next to Jackson and Longstreet. Although the name and deeds ot this gallant Virginian conspicuously punctuate the record of every major campaign of the Army of Northern Virginia